Hi guys. I'm new here. I would like to know if there is a difference in internal parts and sound quality between these two amps, other than the obvious doubling of power. I'm using a std. Cinema Grand to power my ALiii's and am thinking about upgrading to the Sig. Model(5x405). Thanks for your help.

The difference between the two amps is really just power. I have owned both and the Cinema Grand and the Cinema Grand Signature and both have the same sound, but the Signature is double the power. Cinema Gran is 200 wpc while the Signature is at least 400 wpc into 8 ohms.

IMO, both are good amps and will power your speakers fine. You most likely not hear any difference and the volume level between them will be pretty close but you will not be taxing the Signature as much when you play it loud as it has more power in reserve.

Now I prefer the Sunfire 600 on ALIII's. I like the sound better. I think it is voiced differently for stereo and not for home theater. Just my opinion.

thuffman03 wrote:The difference between the two amps is really just power. I have owned both and the Cinema Grand and the Cinema Grand Signature and both have the same sound, but the Signature is double the power. Cinema Gran is 200 wpc while the Signature is at least 400 wpc into 8 ohms.

IMO, both are good amps and will power your speakers fine. You most likely not hear any difference and the volume level between them will be pretty close but you will not be taxing the Signature as much when you play it loud as it has more power in reserve.

Now I prefer the Sunfire 600 on ALIII's. I like the sound better. I think it is voiced differently for stereo and not for home theater. Just my opinion.

I appreciate your opinion , since you owned both amps. You say they have the same sound, but the Sunfire 600 sounds better to you. Does the 600 stereo amp have the same sound as the 300 stereo amp? The 600x2 is really hard to find in good condition. Maybe I could bi-amp using 2 channels of the Cinema Grand for the bass, and use a 300x2 for the ribbons.

BobSmi57 wrote:I appreciate your opinion , since you owned both amps. You say they have the same sound, but the Sunfire 600 sounds better to you. Does the 600 stereo amp have the same sound as the 300 stereo amp? The 600x2 is really hard to find in good condition. Maybe I could bi-amp using 2 channels of the Cinema Grand for the bass, and use a 300x2 for the ribbons.

Having owned a 300x2 (series 1), and now a 625x2 (series 2). For some reason I do believe that the 625x2 does sound betterEVEN at lower volumes.I think that the mids are smother in the 625x2 than the 300x2.

BobSmi57 wrote:I appreciate your opinion , since you owned both amps. You say they have the same sound, but the Sunfire 600 sounds better to you. Does the 600 stereo amp have the same sound as the 300 stereo amp? The 600x2 is really hard to find in good condition. Maybe I could bi-amp using 2 channels of the Cinema Grand for the bass, and use a 300x2 for the ribbons.

Having owned a 300x2 (series 1), and now a 625x2 (series 2). For some reason I do believe that the 625x2 does sound betterEVEN at lower volumes.I think that the mids are smother in the 625x2 than the 300x2.

I find that the Signatures seem to have a bit more pronounced and forward midrange over the non signature models, more so with the stereo amplifiers. If money were no object I would prefer a Signature amp. The Cinema Grands are very close in sound so unless you need more power anyway it would be hard to justify the additional cost in my opinion.

thuffman03 wrote:The difference between the two amps is really just power. I have owned both and the Cinema Grand and the Cinema Grand Signature and both have the same sound, but the Signature is double the power. Cinema Gran is 200 wpc while the Signature is at least 400 wpc into 8 ohms.

IMO, both are good amps and will power your speakers fine. You most likely not hear any difference and the volume level between them will be pretty close but you will not be taxing the Signature as much when you play it loud as it has more power in reserve.

Now I prefer the Sunfire 600 on ALIII's. I like the sound better. I think it is voiced differently for stereo and not for home theater. Just my opinion.

I agree. The same, but not the same in five versus two channel sunfire.

thuffman03 wrote:The difference between the two amps is really just power. I have owned both and the Cinema Grand and the Cinema Grand Signature and both have the same sound, but the Signature is double the power. Cinema Gran is 200 wpc while the Signature is at least 400 wpc into 8 ohms.

IMO, both are good amps and will power your speakers fine. You most likely not hear any difference and the volume level between them will be pretty close but you will not be taxing the Signature as much when you play it loud as it has more power in reserve.

Now I prefer the Sunfire 600 on ALIII's. I like the sound better. I think it is voiced differently for stereo and not for home theater. Just my opinion.

I appreciate your opinion , since you owned both amps. You say they have the same sound, but the Sunfire 600 sounds better to you. Does the 600 stereo amp have the same sound as the 300 stereo amp? The 600x2 is really hard to find in good condition. Maybe I could bi-amp using 2 channels of the Cinema Grand for the bass, and use a 300x2 for the ribbons.